Chapter 3
Sophie knew exactly how to manipulate people's emotions.
Right after she posted those cropped screenshots, she dropped a voice message in the group chat. Her tone was dripping with fake sweetness and concern.
Sophie: [Julia, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that my being close to Lucas would hurt your feelings, but I swear we're just like brother and sister. I only see him as family.]
Sophie: [If it really bothers you that much, I can stop talking to Lucas altogether. I don't want to cause problems between the two of you because of me.]
Sophie: [Frank's my boyfriend, and I'm completely devoted to him. Please stop using these fake screenshots to trash my reputation. You're making Frank upset.]
Her words completely set everyone in the group chat off, and they all started ripping into me.
[Julia, are you trying to get yourself killed? You go after Sophie every other day. Can't survive without some girl-on-girl drama, huh?]
[If Lucas can't keep you satisfied, I can hook you up with a couple of toys. If those are too small, I'll get you a damn fire extinguisher. Just stop stirring up shit when you've got nothing better to do.]
[Dirty minds see dirt everywhere. Just because you're a slut doesn't mean every other woman is a whore. Don't be so fucking ridiculous.]
Frank, the loyal lapdog that he was, saw his girlfriend playing the victim and immediately jumped in. He tagged both me and Lucas in his message.
Frank: [Julia, my girlfriend isn't some piece of trash you can insult whenever you feel like it. You've crossed the line. I want you on video right now, getting on your knees and apologizing to Sophie.
Frank: [Lucas, control your bitch, or don't blame me for forgetting we're supposed to be brothers.]
Their little clique wasn't nearly as tight-knit as they pretended to be. Everyone had their own agenda, and their so-called brotherhood was cheaper than a bouquet of plastic flowers from the dollar store.
Out of all of them, Sophie came from the poorest background, but she'd managed to become the group's darling by playing the "one of the guys" card with every man she met.
Lucas came from a family similar to Sophie's. The only reason she gave him the time of day was definitely because of that pretty-boy face of his.
As for Frank's looks? They were hard to describe.
Imagine pulling sweet potatoes out of the oven, piping hot, but it was so hot that people dropped them, and they splatted on the ground. Then, some kid in cleats ran over and stomped right on it.
Frank looked about like that.
But what his face lacked, his bank account more than made up for. The Monroe family was one of the wealthier local families, and that meant Frank's position in this ragtag group was untouchable.
He might've been ugly as hell, but everyone had to kiss his ass.
The only reason Sophie was with him was probably because she had her eye on his family's money.
So when Frank called Lucas out by name in the group chat, Lucas could only play the obedient little grandson and take it.
When Sophie spread lies about me and Frank started cursing me out, my explanations just sounded pathetic.
I replied: [She started it. She came at me first, and I only said those things because she was being nasty to me. She deleted her own messages, so what you're seeing isn't the whole story.]
Frank went off in the group chat: [Bullshit! Who the hell do you think you are? My girlfriend has nothing better to do than start shit with you?]
Sophie's voice was dripping with fake hurt: [Julia, why are you trying to frame me like this? What did I ever do to you? You're saying I cursed at you first. Do you have any proof?]
She sounded so wronged and pitiful, but I could hear it underneath—that smug satisfaction in her voice, like she'd already won.
What she didn't know was that this was exactly what I'd been waiting for her to say.